


rose pastel

by tarm



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Persona 5 Protagonist Attends Kosei High School, Psychology, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:02:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tarm/pseuds/tarm
Summary: Ren transfers to Kosei High where he meets eccentric art student Yusuku Kitagawa, fierce shogi player Hifumi Togo and popular ace detective Goro Akechi/he's shattered porcelain, glued back together again, invincible like he's never been/
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 13
Kudos: 199
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	rose pastel

for the first time i see an image of my brokenness   
utterly worthy of love

  
_4/11_

“And that was our guest for today, Ace Detective Goro Akechi.”

Ren takes a quick look at Leblanc’s TV as he finishes his curry before heading out to school. It’s a rerun of a supposedly popular interview as far as he can guess, but he has no time for it right now. 

Sojiro did take him to Kosei High School yesterday, but that was by car, and now Ren isn’t so sure that he can get there without getting lost. He has already checked which train to use and train schedule, but still it’s probably best to leave early, just in case. 

Yongen has way too many stray cats. Ren noticed it when he arrived, and now he leaves a large bowl of milk, that he bought yesterday, in backstreets of Yongen where most cats seem to sleep. 

It’s starting to rain as soon as Ren gets off the train, so he hides from the cold drops falling from the sky under some shop’s roof. He’s not alone: a boy stands next to him, fixing his hair — wet and messy because of the rain. It feels as if Ren has seen him before: the mild features, and light brown hair, and his clothes seem kinda familiar, but Ren can’t tell for sure. 

“Hm?”

The boy notices Ren’s glance and looks back, and they stand there for a few moments just observing each other. Ren wants to say something, break the silence and get to know this person, because he feels some weird attachment forming and… well, he can’t take his eyes off the boy. It’s just something hidden in his calm eyes, in his politely smiling lips, something dangerous, something calling to Ren, something he cannot ignore even if he wanted to. 

_“Is that Goro Akechi?”_

Ren breaks eye contact first and looks at the group of students whispering and pointing at the boy in front of him. 

_“You think? I only saw him on TV, I’m not sure.”_

_“_ I’m _sure. C’mon, I wanna ask him for an autograph.”_

The girl comes up to apparently _Goro Akechi_ (Ren could swear he’s heard this name somewhere) and her friends have no choice but to follow. 

Goro Akechi smiles at them and says something that makes the whole group laugh, but Ren can’t make out what exactly. He does though remember where he saw Akechi: at that TV show this morning. Right, he’s a popular detective or something, a celebrity. That does explain why more and more people are gathering around him, asking for autographs and photos, and Ren decides to leave before he gets crashed. 

He looks at his phone to check time, noticing that that weird app appeared again, and shit, he’s almost late on his first day. 

Well, he did expect that he would have to run to school. Although he _really_ didn’t want to. 

“Bloody Goro Akechi,” Ren swears as he finally sees Kosei’s gates and tries to catch his breath. It seems, he still has a few minutes left to get to the faculty office without being late, but he can’t relax just yet: he has no fucking idea where the faculty office is. 

Ren is about to go through the gates when he hears someone running and yelling as if with last ounce of strength. 

“You! Please wait!”

Ren turns around, somewhat scared, somewhat intrigued, because he doesn’t know what to expect and finds a gangly, blue-haired student struggling to catch his breath. 

“I noticed you under the shop near the train station and I’ve been chasing you since,” the student explains, but it obviously doesn’t make anything clearer. 

“Why? What do you want?” Ren must be looking a bit confused and perhaps even hostile and that makes the other student realise how strange he must have sounded. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I do need to explain myself. I’m Yusuke Kitagawa, second-year student in fine arts department. Recently, I’ve been in something you may call “slump”. It’s getting harder for me to create, to find inspiration, but… but when I saw you there at the station, I knew immediately that you can help me get out of the slump if only I could get you to model for me.”

Yusuke speaks with such passion so when he stops, Ren already feels half-convinced that he has to help him, but still... 

“I’m…”

“You don’t need to answer right away,” Yusuke interrupts him, sensing that he may get rejected and trying to avoid it. “I’m living with Madarame-sensei at his atelier not so far away, so if you decide to accept my offer, we could go there after school, and it wouldn’t take much of your time. Please think about it.”

Ren nods feeling that he might actually sign up for this (it sounds fun, and Yusuke actually seems to be a pretty interesting guy), but for now he needs to get to the faculty office. 

And he know just the person to take him there. 

  
***

Ren understands that he won’t be able to say no to Yusuke after all when he searches the name of Yusuke’s sensei online, and some of the articles which come out are about plagiarism and abuse, and if Yusuke is abused, Ren cannot overlook it. 

He texts Yusuke about modelling and they meet after classes. They are both second-years, just different classes, and Yusuke tells him a lot about school and their teachers. 

With each second, Ren becomes more and more comfortable around Yusuke to the point that he actually asks him about his sensei. 

“I read he abuses his students. And plagiarizes their work. The articles say it’s all for money… Is it true? Did he ever… hurt you?” Ren tries to sound as much distrustful of these rumors as possible as he shows Yusuke the articles on his phone, but Yusuke still gets fired up. 

“Nonsense! _Plagiarism_? Money? Sensei lives in a humble _shack_ , as he calls it! Do you think he would do so if he cared about riches? His work is displayed in different _museums_ across the world, but he isn’t interested in money, I can assure you. He took me in when I was little, and I own my life to him, so please stop with these lies!”

“Sorry,” Ren nods to make Yusuke calm down, but something still feels odd. Maybe exactly _because of_ Yusuke’s reaction. 

“No,” Yusuke shakes his head, pulling himself together. “It’s me who needs to apologise. You were worried about me, and I yelled at you. I’m truly sorry. Anyway, we are almost… my lord, what is this?!”

Ren has never been here before, but he is pretty sure that buildings in the residential area and the “shack” which Yusuke referred to aren’t supposed to look like this. 

Before them stands an enormous golden building that shines to much it makes Ren’s eyes hurt. 

“We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere… but I don’t recall ever seeing this place around. I’m sure I would have noticed such a glamorous building.”

Yusuke seems truly puzzled, and Ren suggests they take a closer look and ask around the crowd near the entrance. 

If they can make it to the entrance. 

_“What do you mean you don’t know what this place is? It’s the museum of the greatest artist of all times!”_

_“We’ve been waiting in line since morning! It’s always so crowded!”_

_“Oh my, I’ll finally be able to see Great Artist Madarame. Can you believe it?”_

_“I’m so happy right now!”_

_“Honey, maybe we’ll come another time? What? No, of course we can wait…”_

“Museum of the great artist Madarame? What is that supposed to mean?” Yusuke looks around, baffled and somewhat uncomfortable, and Ren suggests that they go inside to figure everything out. 

“I agree. But we’re going to wait an eternity in this line.”

“Let’s find ourselves another way in then.”

They look around the museum when Ren notices a truck near the wall. 

“I have an idea,” Ren smiles so devilishly it makes Yusuke wonder if Ren is actually enjoying all of this. “But I need your help.”

Yusuke gives him a leg-up, and then Ren helps him to get on the truck too. Ren takes a deep breath, concentrates and jumps onto the bloody wall, almost giving Yusuke a heart attack. 

“You can do this!” Ren shouts as he’s checking out the area and concludes, “We will be able to go from here.”

Yusuke runs his fingers through his hair as he is trying to mentally prepare himself (for he has never done something like this in the past) and then jumps. What on earth for? He doesn’t know. Everything is so weird today that he decides to simply play along to whatever comes his way. Including this jump that he would never have done before. 

He lands safely, and it even makes him a little bit thrilled, which does not happen so often. 

“There’s an open window,” Ren points into the distance, and Yusuke follows him there. 

Inside, everything is as bright and shiny as building’s outward appearance. But something is definitely off here. It’s an eerily looking place, and it’s getting more and more unsettling as they proceed further. 

They stumble upon a room full of portraits, and it’s fine and all until Yusuke points out that he knows some of the people there. They are former pupils of Madarame, he says. But why the hell are there portraits of them here? 

It all becomes clear though when Ren notices a portrait that catches him completely off guard. 

It’s Yusuke’s. 

“What on earth is this?” Yusuke looks at himself, stunned and disgusted, and all Ren can do is to squeeze his shoulder and tell him that they’re going to get to the bottom of this and it’s all going to be alright. 

It doesn’t help much. 

“If this is Madarame’s museum, then this is how he sees me? And his other pupils? How can this be?..”

Yusuke seems completely lost and unable to move when suddenly some bizarre-looking guards surround them. 

“Yusuke!”

Ren manages to dodge, but Yusuke gets captured, taken by these creatures, and Ren doesn’t understand _at all_ what the hell is going on. 

“We’ve found the intruders. We need to inform lord Madara—” one of the “guards” suggests, but the other one cuts it off. 

“What for? We can dispose of them ourselves. No need to bother our lord. Let’s start with this one,” It points to Yusuke it holds captive, and when its partner laughs and punches Yusuke so hard that Yusuke coughs blood, Ren loses it. 

“That’s enough!” He shouts at them, annoyed and infuriated, and a voice echoes in his head, promising him power to break through this, to save Yusuke, and Ren unleashes it, taking off the mask. 

“Arsène!”

His attire changes, and Arsène appears right behind him, lending Ren his power. 

The guards push Yusuke away and as if bursting turn into even stranger-looking creatures, ready to attack. Ren has to fight them, has to succeed and has to save Yusuke. They came here together, and Ren’s not going to leave without him. 

He finishes the guards off in just a few attacks — they turn out to be pretty weak — and rushes to Yusuke, asking if he’s okay. 

“I am… but your clothes… and that thing behind you… and those monsters…” Yusuke mumbles, astounded by how surreal all of this seems. 

“We need to get out of here. It’s dangerous,” Ren helps him get up when suddenly his clothes turn back to his school uniform. 

“I want to know what this place is… but you’re right. It would be a shame to die here,” Yusuke nods. “I need you to promise me, Ren. We’ll come back here.”

Yusuke has a dead serious look in his eyes, and Ren gives in. 

“I promise.”

They come back the way they came from, this time hiding when they hear any noises though, and once they’re out, in the street, Yusuke begins to run away from the museum as fast as he can, and Ren has no other choice but to follow him, and suddenly everything is back to normal. 

“Yusuke, wait! It’s all fine!” 

Ren tries to catch up to him and nearly crushes into him when Yusuke runs out of breath and stops. 

“What… what the hell was that?” Yusuke pants, and coughs, and looks at the atelier in disbelief because it’s there, in the distance, and there’s no sign of that enormous posh museum. 

“I believe you’ve just experienced the Metaverse,” someone says behind them, scaring them to death. 

Ren turns around, and it’s him. It’s him, the boy he saw in the morning, _Goro Akechi_. 

“The Meta… what?” Yusuke glances at him, distrustful, and Akechi chuckles. 

“The Metaverse. You may say it’s another reality where distorted desires of an individual materialised. Can I see your phones for a moment?” Akechi holds out his hand, and Ren gives his to him because his phone definitely has been acting up. 

“It’s the Nav, an app which allows you to go to the Metaverse,” Akechi points to the app with an eye that kept popping on Ren’s phone. “It even has search history. Let’s see… Hm, it looks like you’ve been to Madarame’s palace. How interesting… ” 

Akechi gets lost in thought for a moment, but Yusuke brings him back to reality. 

“Sensei’s palace? What do you mean? And how do you know so much about all of this?”

“Oh, me?” Akechi chuckles. “I’ve had the Nav for a while now. The app suddenly appeared on my phone some time ago, and I investigated it. I’m an Ace Detective, after all. But you… you should be more careful. I was on a case when I saw you appearing out of nowhere. Were it someone else, it _could_ raise questions.”

Yusuke seems too confused to say anything, and Akechi continues. 

“Hm, I wonder what you’re going to do now. You’ve awakened to your Persona, have you not?” He turns to Ren, and Ren nods. “It’s your spirit of rebellion, your power to fight shadows. Those creatures that you must have faced.”

“I see,” Ren glances at Akechi. “We could use your help there.”

“Help?” Akechi seems kind of amused and intrigued as he looks at Ren. “So you want to go back?”

“Yes,” Yusuke replies while Ren suddenly gets too occupied with a stray cat rubbing against his leg. “If that was truly a reality with distorted desires of my sensei, I need to know what is the meaning of all this.” 

Yusuke, though still trembling, finally seems to be getting his strength back. 

“Then why don’t we make a deal?” Akechi smiles. “There’s a person whose heart I want to change, so I help you with Madarame, and one day you’ll return the favor.”

“What do you mean by a change of heart?” Yusuke looks up at Akechi with something close to excitement in his face. “Are you saying that we can save sensei from his distortion?”

“Not exactly. If you steal his treasure, the very manifestation of his desires, he must undergo a change of heart. His distorted desires will be gone, so it must have a great affect on the real person too. But I’ve never done it myself, so it’s purely theoretical.”

“I… I want to find out more.” Yusuke seems to have made up his mind. “Please, help us.”

“It’s a deal,” Ren grins at Goro, and Akechi smiles back. 

“Let’s meet tomorrow after school then. You’re both aware I’m your senpai, right?.. By the way,” Goro turns to Ren. “I feel like I’ve seen your face somewhere… oh right, at that shop near the station this morning. You were soaked wet, hiding from rain, and then you suddenly ran,” Goro sincerely laughs as he recalls it. “Perhaps it was fate?”

  
***

_4/12_

“How many did you trample upon? How many dreams did you exchange for riches!?” Yusuke cries as his life is falling apart before him. The man he admired so much, who was like a father to him… turns out Yusuke didn’t know him at all. 

Yusuke awakens to the contemptible truth and to Goemon, but his heart breaks. 

Ren and Akechi stand beside him, full of determination, and if it weren’t for them, Yusuke would’ve probably run away, averted his eyes from the truth just like he did before, but now… now he’s not alone. 

“You got this?” Ren asks, and now Yusuke knows the answer for sure. 

“I am ready!”

And they fight. The three of them. And though it takes some time, they manage to defeat this shadow that protected Madarame and aided in his escape. 

They’re all exhausted, and they head down to the nearest safe room. Yusuke barely makes it to a chair and sits with his head buried in his hands, and Ren and Akechi look at each other, not sure what to say. 

“Yusuke…” Ren mutters, but there is no answer. 

“Let’s give him some time,” Goro rests his hand on Ren’s shoulder and gives him a tired, yet warm smile. 

Akechi is visibly worn out. He had to do most of the hard work and fighting because Yusuke didn’t have a Persona, and Ren was still getting used to it all. (His ability to hold multiple Personas is one of a great value though, according to Akechi’s remark.) 

“We could use at least one more person, I reckon,” Goro suggests as Ren lends him his shoulder and helps him to a chair. “It’s only going to get tougher from here on.”

“I don’t know anyone,” Ren replies, and Akechi looks confused for a moment, but then he remembers. 

“Oh, right. You just moved here, didn’t you? Then…”

“I might know someone who can help,” Yusuke utters as he makes himself look at them and get up. “I’m sorry I worried you. I just needed some time to process it all.”

Yusuke keeps quiet for a few seconds, trying to find courage, and then breaks, telling them about his mother’s death, how Madarame took him in and raised him. 

“That’s why you said you owed your life to him,” Ren utters, frustration taking over him because of Yusuke’s story, because of how betrayed he must be feeling right now, because of how cruel reality turned out to be. 

“It doesn’t matter now. He’s unforgivable,” Yusuke wipes tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. 

“You’ve mentioned someone who can help?” Akechi reminds. 

“Yes… there is this girl in my class, she’s a famous shogi player.”

“You mean Hifumi Togo? I see… Yes, she would do. We could use her help in coming up with new strategies.” 

“I can talk to her, but how are we going to explain the Metaverse to her, Akechi-senpai?” Yusuke asks. 

“From what I know about her, I think I’ll manage to convince her,” Akechi chuckles. “By the way, there’s no need for formalities. You can call me by my first name.”

“Sure,” Ren nods like it’s nothing. 

“Wait! Is this really okay?” Yusuke exclaims, his gaze shifting from Akechi to Ren and back. 

“Absolutely. I don’t mind,” Akechi reassures. “I think we should end this here for today. I don’t think we’ll be able to proceed further in such a state. I’ll try to talk to Togo-san at school on Monday, I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Akechi smiles at them politely, but there is something odd in this smile, something wrong in how his lips move. Ren studies it each time, observes carefully how Goro acts, fights and talks. Ren wants to crack him, get to know him because there’s definitely more to his story than Goro’s letting on. 

Akechi has him mesmerized to the point that Ren exchanges messages with him for the rest of the week. He never sees Goro at school because of some case of his, but Goro always answers Ren’s texts. Sometimes Ren waits a few hours for a response, sure, but he gets one either way. 

He asks Goro how his day went and leaves him supportive messages once Akechi feels comfortable enough to talk about his family, his father who abandoned them and his mother’s suicide. Ren doesn’t mean to intrude or anything, he just feels like Goro might need someone to talk to. And if so, Ren will be there for him. 

  
***

_4/15_

“Fascinating…” Hifumi looks around Madarame’s palace, observing and pointing out details that not a single one of them even noticed before. “It’s just like Goro told me. Your clothes, and your Personas, and shadows… I do believe it will be quite useful for me to assist you.”

“Useful?” Yusuke turns to Hifumi for clarification. “What do you mean?”

“I always try to come up with new moves for shogi, and I feel like this place will be a huge inspiration for me. If you’ll have me, of course.”

There’s no objection. They need someone, and even though Ren doesn’t know Hifumi at all, she seems like a good addition to the team. She’s smart and well-educated, earnest too. Ren kinda wants to become her friend immediately. 

Talking to Hifumi, they’re so caught in the moment that they become too careless. 

“I sense something!” Goro shouts just before Shadow Madarame appears. 

“I see you have no intention of stopping this nonsense?” he sounds genuinely irritated, as if something is wrong with them, for confronting him. As if they should just give up and leave everything as it is. “You even brought someone new! Still, this won’t help you.”

He studies Hifumi for a few seconds, as though trying to remember her, and then it strikes him. 

“Oh, I know you… Yes… _That_ shogi player,” Madarame bursts into laughter. “You should’ve known better who to associate with, Yusuke! After all, she’s just like me!”

Ren exchanges worried looks with Goro and Yusuke because that’s definitely _not_ what they expected to happen here. Hifumi is supposed to have no connection with Madarame whatsoever, so what is going on? 

“Don’t tell me you don’t know?” Madarame continues, looking directly at Hifumi, buried in her thoughts, trying to understand. “You are just as fake as I am. How do you think media gets those stories about your family? How do you keep winning even though your shogi skills are not _that_ good? You must have noticed your opponents make poor moves... Your mother pays them off! She sells all those stories to paparazzi! It’s such a brilliant scam I wouldn’t come up with a better one myself!”

Madarame laughs. Cruelly, mockingly, it sends chills down Ren’s spine. He must put stop to this. He must…

“Shut up!” 

A loud outcry, full of devastation and anger, which Hifumi lets out, echoes around the hall, echoes in their hearts. 

This is it. 

“We are nothing alike!”

Hifumi trembles, shaken by Madarame’s claims and sudden voices appealing to her in her head, but she manages to keep standing. It’s not time to concede yet. She won’t lose. 

A mask appears on her face, and she rips it off violently, splashing blood everywhere, as she screams at the top of her lungs, asking for power, asking for _Jingū_. 

“Come to me!”

Hifumi’s Persona appears, and her clothes change, but the look in her eyes, her resolve stay the same. 

She’ll take the victory. 

  
***

“I… I need to talk to my mother.”

They stand outside Madarame’s atelier as the sunlight fades and leaves them alone in a dark and empty street. 

“I don’t think you want my help anymore, right? If my matches were staged, I can’t be your strategist… I’m sorry.”

Hifumi looks desperate and broken, somewhat defeated even — so different from how she was before when she was fighting. 

“Are you joking?” Ren looks at her in disbelief. “You’re the fiercest warrior I’ve ever seen. Of course, we want you around.”

“I was about to say the same thing,” Yusuke notes. “We need you, Hifumi.”

“What do you think?” Ren turns to Goro who’s been observing them silently since they left the palace and who Ren has been studying himself. There is a glimpse of shock on his face as Ren with Yusuke encourage Hifumi and tell her that she can belong with them, as if he doesn’t believe that they genuinely want her to stay. 

Ren can’t help but wonder why. 

“Well, I dragged Hifumi into this,” Goro seems to finally have found the right words. “Who would I be if I turned my back on her now?”

“Then… I’ll do my best to come up with great strategies for you!” Hifumi smiles faintly, yet sincerely, before getting lost in thought. “You know, when I think about it, there were times when my opponents made strange decisions, but I never would’ve even imagined that my mother paid them. And the media...”

“If you want us to be there for you when you talk to your mother…” Ren begins awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair, but Hifumi interrupts him. 

“No, I need to face it on my own. I’ll tell you how it goes though, if that’s okay.”

They part ways, having said their goodbyes and agreed to meet in a couple of days when both Goro and Hifumi are free, and Ren is about to reach for his earphones when Akechi hails him, asking if he is free right now. 

“There is something I want to talk with you about,” he explains, and they head to a café nearby that Goro’s fond of. 

The café turns out to be quite lovely. It’s pastel, and warm, and quiet, and it smells of coffee and pastry, kinda reminding Ren of Leblanc. He notices some beautiful photos on the walls and, surprisingly, a lot of flowers and plants around the café, so it feels more like a flower shop, but Ren immediately loves it. 

“I wouldn’t have thought that you hang out in places like this,” Ren notices as they sit down after having ordered coffee and some desserts, making Akechi let on a barely noticeable smile. 

“It’s fairly close to school, and there’s usually few people during the day, so it’s a nice spot to stop by from time to time. I prefer a jazz club though. Maybe we could go there sometime.”

“I’d love to,” Ren replies and nods, and Akechi laughs because Ren’s down for almost anything. You could ask him for his help, his time, his anything — and chances of him turning you down would be pretty slim.

“You intrigue me,” Akechi admits. “I can’t really wrap my head around you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Helping Yusuke, and Hifumi, and even me… the people you knew for such a short amount of time, and you still try to do your best to help. That’s something to admire and be wary of at the same time, don’t you think?” he looks directly at Ren. “I don’t understand you. What is your goal here?”

Akechi stares at him, studies him, breaks him down to pieces in order to see what’s inside him, what makes him who he is. 

“There’s no goal. I just want to help. I can’t overlook injustice that makes people suffer.”

“So you truly only want to save people?” Akechi rubs his chin, his eyes fixed on Ren, and the coffee is finally being served. 

“Don’t you?” 

“No. I’m helping you because of our deal. I don’t really care about other people,” Akechi takes a sip with a thin smile. “Does it bother you and your sense of justice?”

“No,” Ren looks back at Goro, and their eyes meet. “I want to help you too. And we made a deal, after all.”

Akechi chuckles, averting his gaze, and Ren studies him carefully. Goro is strange. He’s trying so hard to be pleasant and polite, he smiles all the time and makes light-hearted jokes, yet that’s clearly not who he is. And Ren can see it. His whole body senses that the image of Ace Detective is nothing but lies which the real Goro Akechi hides behind, letting on only glimpses of himself. He breaks through his own walls only to tell Ren right in the face that he doesn’t care about helping people, about justice, to test him, tease him, and then comes back into hiding. 

But Ren meant what he said. 

_He wants to help him._

Ren thinks about it for the rest of the day even after they part ways, and it leads him to write a message to Akechi at two o’clock in the morning, saying that Goro doesn’t need to hide; for Ren, and Yusuke, and Hifumi can handle _the_ _real Goro Akechi_ if he ever chose to show himself to them. 

To this message, Goro doesn’t respond. 

  
***

_4/18_

“Don’t you think we should have code names?” Hifumi asks as they enter Madarame’s museum in a few days. 

“Code names?” Yusuke turns to her. 

“Yes. Wouldn’t it be better not to use our real names? Madarame knows them already, yes, but if we were to continue this, I believe we’d better hide our identities, no?”

“I’ve been thinking about it too,” Akechi joins the discussion. “We should avoid using our names from now on. We have no idea who we may run into.”

“You’re right,” the look on Hifumi’s face becomes troubled. “We can discover other Persona-users or maybe even… Hm…”

“What is it?” Yusuke asks. 

“I’ve been thinking these past few days after Goro told me about the Metaverse. It’s possible that we are not the only ones who have access to it, right? And if we are to steal the treasure, the ruler will undergo something we agreed to call “change of heart”, but what if there is another way to mess with people in the Metaverse? It’s still unknown what caused the recent mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, so it’s probable that these crimes could have been done in the Metaverse,” Hifumi finishes, and Ren and Yusuke exchange worried looks. They didn’t think about it at all. 

“I’ve been suspecting that myself,” Akechi admits, looking somewhat impressed by Hifumi’s deduction. “I didn’t tell you because I don’t have any proofs yet. But if I investigate the Metaverse further, I’m sure I’ll find something.”

He gives them a reassuring smile, and even though it seems to satisfy Hifumi and Yusuke, Ren feels there is more to it than Akechi tells them. 

But Ren shall wait. 

“Anyway, there is no point in thinking about it now. Let us go back to code names,” Goro continues, and the group nods. 

“I want to be Kitsune,” Yusuke replies, examining his attire, “or Fox. Yes, Fox will do.”

“Who shall I be?” Hifumi gets lost there for a moment. 

“Maybe Queen?” Ren suggests. 

“Virago perhaps?”

Hifumi shakes her head at both Ren’s and Goro’s ideas. 

“I think I want to be Warlord or something.”

“Oh, I can definitely see that. It’s perfect,” Goro laughs. “And I would like to be Crow.”

“But your clothes are white,” Yusuke objects, but a moment later it dawns on him. “However, you do have a beak…”

“It’s settled then!” Goro turns to Ren. “What about you though? I feel like you should be Cat or something felinish.”

“Cat?” Hifumi can’t help but burst into laughter (and so does Yusuke), hiding her face in her hands. “Ren reminds you of _a cat_?”

“Well, cats always follow him around, don’t they?” Akechi replies, visibly regretting his decision to share what he said earlier. “It’s as if they’re attracted to him. And he has this messy fluffy hair, and I must admit he’s quite agile, just like a cat…”

“I’m not sure I want to be Cat,” Ren intervenes, saving Goro from himself and Hifumi and Yusuke from dying from laughter. “Is there any other ideas?”

“What about Joker?” Yusuke looks at them, beaming with joy because of his idea. “Like in cards.”

“I like that,” Hifumi approves, and Ren has no objection either. 

Goro decides from now on, sometimes he’d better just stay quiet. 

  
***

_4/27_

“Watch the store while I’m gone, will ya?” Sojiro grabs his cigarettes and waves at them before disappearing in the streets of Yongen. 

Ren puts on his apron and gets behind counter to make some coffee for his friends. Yusuke won’t let go of “Sayuri”, Madarame’s treasure and Yusuke’s symbol of hope. He clutches onto it, the last connection to his mother, as Hifumi reaches out to tenderly touch his hand, and Ren tries to come up with something supportive to say, and even Goro squeezes Yusuke’s shoulder in order to cheer him up.

Hifumi sits down on an empty chair across the table and pulls out an old book on tactics with yellow, rustling pages, some of which are stained or about to fall out. Hifumi caresses them as if it were a treasure of her own and gets so lost in faded words, biting her lips and twirling a lock of her hair around her finger, that she doesn’t even notice a cup of coffee Ren places before her until Goro touches her shoulder. 

Goro rests by the counter, his head propped up on his hand, watching Ren make coffee, and somehow it puts him at ease. Ren’s movements are gentle and relaxed, he hums a melody Goro seems to have heard somewhere and smiles so tenderly as he picks beans and reaches for cups it makes Goro’s heart ache a little bit. He saw Ren get unexplainably thrilled, aroused even, by danger, the smirk blossoming on his face as they were chased down or cornered, but seeing this side of Ren, noticing these little things and feeling just how much Ren _belongs_ here, makes him want to get to know Ren a little more. 

“By the way, Ren,” Hifumi seems to remember something she wanted to inquire about for a long time now, “why did you move here?”

Yusuke turns to him too (he’s been wondering about that for a while now), only Akechi seems to be completely absorbed in the cup in his hands. It makes Ren wonder whether he knows. He’s a detective, so it wouldn’t be a surprise. But either way Ren’s thankful to Goro for not saying anything and letting Ren explain everything himself.

He tells them about his criminal record, about that night when he stood up for that woman and got arrested for it, and it makes him feel such warmth when Hifumi and Yusuke get mad, when they call it all bullshit and immediately suggest they find that man however impossible it may seem. 

“You lost the place where you thought you belonged too,” Hifumi concludes, putting the book aside, and Ren nods. 

“The world treated you that unfairly, but you still want to help people?” Akechi butts in, studying Ren’s face.   
“Yes.”

Ren replies without any second thoughts, without even thinking about his answer, and it makes Goro shake his head, his eyes down. 

“Of course, you do…”

“What’s your story, senpai?” 

Yusuke’s sudden question strikes Akechi, and it takes him a few moments to pull himself together. He is not sure if he should actually tell them the truth. They’ve been hanging out only for a few weeks or so, and it’s not that long, if you think about it. 

Goro feels Ren looking at him. Ren is the only one he’s ever told about his mother and his shitty father, and he’d much rather prefer it that way. 

Though, he supposes, he can tell that a bit about it. 

  
***

_5/2_

“How about a celebration?” Hifumi asks with excitement as they watch Madarame’s press conference at Ren’s place. In the end, the change of heart did work. 

Yusuke nods with a triumphant smile. 

“I believe it would be nice to go somewhere unusual,” he suggests.

“Then how about Harajuku?” Hifumi doesn’t even try to hide her exhilaration, and it spreads so quickly that even Goro now seems half-pleased with their success and half-excited about the upcoming celebration. “We can do some shopping, and there is a teahouse I've wanted to visit for some time now.”

“Fine by me,” Ren’s always down for some shopping and tea, and he’s never been to Harajuku, so it would be a nice opportunity to explore it. 

“I heard there was some allegedly good pastry shop, so we could stop by there too,” Goro adds, giving in, knowing that sometimes it’s better to just agree with these three. 

And with that, their celebration destination is settled.

_5/5_

Harajuku steals Ren’s heart. It’s bright and open, and the people here are free; brave enough to wear whatever the fuck they want, however weird or insane it may look, and Ren admires them for that. 

“I think I want to try something new,” he mutters, and it immediately catches everyone’s attention. 

“Maybe a new haircut? Or a different hair color?” Hifumi studies him with a serious look on her face. 

“Or different glasses? I think star-shaped glasses would work. We can look for a pair, if you want,” Yusuke joins in. 

“Let’s leave it to Ren to decide, okay?” Goro tries to calm them down before they actually make Ren buy something horrendous. 

“Yes, but what about you?” Goro should’ve known that once Hifumi is enthusiastic about something, it’s almost impossible to calm her down. Now Hifumi seems to have chosen him as her target. “Haven’t you ever wanted to change your image?”

“I was just about to ask if you ever considered tying your hair… and perhaps dyeing it pink?” Yusuke teams up with Hifumi and frames Goro with his fingers, nodding satisfiedly. “It would make a fine piece of art, indeed.”

“I think it’d suit you,” Ren agrees, making Goro shake his head and quickly change the subject, because he is _not_ going to admit that he actually thought about dyeing his hair. 

  
***

_5/14_

“Ren, we have to follow her!”

Yusuke jumps out of the train so fast as if his life depended on it and starts running to an escalator. Ren almost loses him in the crowd and then, having finally found him again, gets crushed as he tries to catch up to him.

“What the hell?” he asks as he finally reaches Yusuke and grabs his sleeve. 

“I want _her_ to be my model. I saw her a couple of times on the train, and she’s magnificent. You did a fine job too, don’t you worry, but I _need her_.”

Yusuke doesn’t stop even for a second, and Ren has no other option but to follow him. The girl Yusuke told him about turns out to be a student of some sort (based on the fact that she’s wearing a school uniform), with blue eyes, reminding Ren of the sea, calm yet desolate — the first thing he notices about her when she turns around and glances at Yusuke and him — and blond hair tied in bunches. 

She looks like she’s trying to hide from something (hopefully, not them), turning around every few seconds and examining carefully everything around her. 

It all becomes clear, when a car stops beside her and some man comes out to talk to her. He’s wearing a tracksuit and looks much, much older than her. Ren and Yusuke exchange troubled glances and get closer to hear what the girl and the man are talking about. It seems like he’s asking her if she needs a lift, and by the way she’s referring to the man Ren figures he must be her teacher. 

“We need to help her,” he tells Yusuke when the girl smiles at the man (Kamoshida, was it?) and then gets in the car with such hopelessness on her face, as if there is no way for her to escape, it pains Ren.

“I must agree. It was most definitely not something we should overlook,” Yusuke replies and thinks for a few seconds. “Based on her uniform, I’d say she’s from Shujin. You remembered the name of that teacher, right?”

Ren nods. 

“Let’s meet with the others.”

  
***

_6/9_

_“Is that Goro Akechi?”_

_“I think so. He looks so cute with his new haircut, don’tcha think?_

_“I know right? I wonder who it is with him though…”_

_“Do you think it’s his friend?”_

_“Or maybe it’s his boyfriend!_ ”

The couple bursts into laughter, but Goro pays them no attention and Ren decides to do the same. 

“It’s tough, being popular.”

“Hm?” Goro turns to him, with a question in his eyes, and then after a few seconds realises what Ren’s referring to. “Ah, that. I don’t even take notice in that anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess people will talk regardless.”

It’s been two months since they’ve started hanging out, and they even got new members in their group — Ann, Ryuji and Morgana — and Ren bonds with them immediately, as if they’ve known each other for ages. They’ve had a great success with their second target — that absolutely revolting PE teacher — and even though their Shujin group has some problems with their student council president who is apparently trying to investigate them, things seem to be going pretty well. 

Ren is half in love with Goro, half-suspicious of him, and it’s all so intertwined, and Ren’s such a mess, and he wants to help Goro so fucking much, that at this point he doesn’t even care about his suspicions. He keeps an eye on Akechi, sure, but he does it so reluctantly, and even when he’s supposed to spy on Akechi (just in case), he basically just enjoys hanging out with him. 

He even goes shopping with Goro when Akechi needs a new shirt or something, and Ren just has to tag along. 

“I reckon maybe this one,” Goro points at a beige turtleneck and fixes his hair, thinking. 

Oh, that’s right, his _hair_. 

Ren spaces out for a few seconds, just looking at Goro’s ponytail, with some loose strands tucked behind his ears. He never actually thought Goro would do it, but now Ren can’t take his eyes off. 

“I didn’t think you were really going to try tying your hair,” Ren mentions with a smile. 

“I was feeling adventurous today,” Goro laughs. “As a matter of fact, it turned out to be quite convenient. I suppose I’m actually enjoying it.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Ren says that without thinking too much, and now Goro looks at him as though Ren is the silliest person alive, but Ren has no regrets. He said what he said because he meant it. 

“Jesus Christ, the things you say sometimes…” Goro shakes his head and gets back to the turtleneck. 

“You should just try it on,” Ren comments, seeing Goro hesitate. “You’ll never know unless you give it a go.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Goro nods and finally takes the turtleneck to the dressing room. 

Ren waits outside, checking out some sweaters nearby, because well, it’s highly doubtful that Goro would want his opinion on the matter. 

“I think I’ll take it,” Goro peeks out of the dressing room to look for Ren and, adjusting the turtleneck, examines himself in the mirror. He looks so soft right now that it’s hard to believe it’s actually Goro Akechi. His disheveled hair and pastel clothes make him seem so cosily warm that Ren gets lost in the moment for a few seconds. 

There is no sign of Goro’s usual coldness and indifference hidden by his politeness, and it looks like he’s actually taking pleasure in this evening, in all the cats Ren stops to pet, in takeaway coffee, in his new hairstyle, in clothes he wants to buy and even in Ren’s cheesy comments. 

Maybe _especially_ in Ren’s cheesy comments. 

  
***

_8/20_

Akechi changes when they meet Futaba. 

They get to know about her by accident, when Ren comes home to find Sae Nijima threaten Sojiro, and the more they learn about Futaba, the more they want to save her. 

Goro is absolutely indifferent as they discuss the case and even agrees to it like it’s not a big deal (the rule about unanimous decision and all), but he grows more and more quiet the further they investigate Futaba’s palace, and Ren seems to know why. 

Yusuke and Hifumi know too, but they stay silent because they want _him_ to say it. 

The more they understand how what happened to Futaba’s mother affected her, how much she had to suffer and how sorrowful she is, the more wretched Goro seems. He’s constantly lost in thought and ignores almost everyone to the point that he gets taken hostage by a shadow, and they have to rescue him. 

When Futaba, awakened to her Persona and saved from destroying herself, talks with her mom for the last bloody time, Goro breaks. 

He leaves. 

Without saying anything to anyone, without explanation — just walks away to disappear from the Metaverse. Ren tries to follow him, but Akechi tells him to get lost, and Hifumi puts her hand on Ren’s shoulder as if to tell him that they need to give Goro some time. 

Later on, Akechi acts like nothing’s happened, he hangs out with Futaba and the others to help her overcome her fears, and everything seems fine, but Ren knows: it’s not.

  
***

_10/10_

“I can’t talk right now,” Akechi picks up his phone and gets up from the table. “What? Are you out of your mind?”

Ren watches him rub his eyes, visibly annoyed by the conversation and barely keeping it together in order not to raise his voice. A singer performs, and the music is loud, but Ren still can hear Goro argue. 

“I’m not going to do that. No, it’s not because of them. It’s because it’s moronic! The election…” Goro shuts for a second, and the person on the other end of the line says something that makes Akechi lose it. “I say no, and I don’t care.”

Goro hangs up and sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, before coming back to Ren. 

He basically falls into his chair, suddenly looking extremely exhausted, and stares Ren straight into the eyes. 

“I am the culprit behind the mental shutdowns.”

Saying that doesn’t make him feel the relief he thought he’d feel and it doesn’t bring him solace he was looking for, but at least now he can be honest. He got carried away playing with the Phantom Thieves, and now it’s time to stop. 

“I know. Hifumi and Yusuke know too.”

Ren says that like it’s nothing, like it’s obvious, and Akechi just sits there, trying to come up with something to say, waiting for an explanation. 

“Hifumi figured it out first. She presumed that there was something you were not telling us because well… you’d already been to the Metaverse before you met us and you seemed to know quite a lot about it. She then went even further and suggested that it was possible that you were trying to use us, so she asked us to keep an eye on you. She saw right through your acting too.”

“Why didn’t you do something about it then?”

“We didn’t have any proofs. Besides, around that time the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns stopped, so we were just observing. And then… then we got to know you, we became close to you. And you’ve changed, letting us care for you,” Ren looks at Goro, but he shows no reaction, and Ren continues. “We decided that we want to help you. Save you. _I_ want to save you.”

“Save me?” Goro laughs. “I don’t need it. I don’t give a shit about being saved. All I care about is to show that bastard who I really am and bring him down. Do you remember I told you about my father? His name is Shido, and he’s running for Prime Minister, _and_ he’s the one I’ve been causing mental shutdowns for. And soon, he will acknowledge me, I’m going to show him, I’m going to crush him, I’m…”

“Is that what you really want?” Ren watches Akechi lose control, watches him break, watches him make a poor attempt to pull himself back together only to fall apart again. “Didn’t you stop messing with other people’s heads? Didn’t you turn Shido down just a while ago? Why did you decline? Isn’t it because you’ve understood that was all a mistake? Because you want to change?”

Ren looks at him, at his face, vulnerable and overwhelmed with emotions, at the way he clutches his turtleneck, lost and looking for comfort, and everything about him screams that maybe he really doesn’t want to be saved, but he needs it. 

“I hate you, Ren,” he mutters, his teeth clenched and his eyes to the floor. He can’t tell him that the person Shido asked him to kill just a moment ago was Haru’s father. He can’t tell that he’s asked Shido to stop with the mental shutdowns (convincing him that they’ve done enough damage to the current cabinet, and the elections are too soon, so it’s better to focus on them) because he had hope he wouldn’t need to kill for him anymore. 

“I know. Figured as much.”

“No, you don’t,” Goro hisses and finally looks at him, with frustration in his eyes. “I’m trying so fucking hard to hate you but I can’t. You’re so nice to everyone including me, and you’re so annoyingly smart, and talented, and unique, you cook and make great coffee and listen to me so goddamn attentively it irritates me. I even wish I hadn’t met you, so I could stay the same, but you’ve changed me, and now I care. I care about you, about Hifumi and Yusuke, and I even slightly care about fucking Ryuji, and Futaba, and Makoto, let alone Morgana and Ann, and I hate that. At some point I even considered asking you to help me with Shido, but goddammit, there’s no way in hell I’m actually going to do that.” 

Akechi says all of that so calmly, yet exasperated it makes Ren scared for a moment. Goro’s lost it, he’s raving, and he’s mad, and he’s still trying so hard not to let his overflowing feelings take over that Ren is afraid Goro may drown. 

“You don’t want to do that for Shido anymore, do you?” Ren begins carefully, trying to reach Goro, to make him understand. “I saw that when we were in Futaba’s palace. You realised something during that time, didn’t you?”

Goro stays silent for a few moments and then all of a sudden gets up and demands that Ren joins him in Mementos. 

His attire changes when they get there — It’s black with violet stripes and belts strapped around his legs and arms (Ren kinda fancies it like this _way_ more), and the black mask, which Kaneshiro mentioned, is finally here. 

“I can use two Personas,” Akechi takes the mask off and steps closer to Ren. “To a certain extent, it is similar to what you can do.”

He stands so close to Ren as if he’s about to rip his heart out, as if he’s about to curse him, destroy him, kill him because he hates what Ren makes him feel. 

He used to be empty, just a cage of bones, with nothing but hate and revenge inside, but now he _feels_ ; his thoughts and emotions are trying to break free, to get out of this cage to the world, to reach the people they’re meant for. Akechi would rather die than let them, and he wouldn’t have any other than Ren to do it. 

He must fight Ren, even if it means to lose to him, no, _especially_ if it means to lose to him, because it will be the end of everything. Goro Akechi will be free. 

“I…” Akechi begins, but Ren looks at him so concerned it makes Goro sick. He doesn’t want Ren to be worried about him, he despises it, and he must end this. 

He must lose and be free. 

There’s only one thing he must bury, the only thing he must chain down and never set free. He must shake off Ren, clutching his sleeve, he must pull away his hand, not letting Ren take it, he must ask him, fight him, lose to him before Goro completely breaks down and kisses him, letting his feelings spill and setting himself free. 

He can’t. 

Ren cups his face, tenderly caressing his cheeks, and Goro bites him, making Ren laugh. 

“We didn’t need to go to the Metaverse to kiss, you know,” Ren notes when Goro lets him go. 

Thank Universe, the concern in his eyes is gone. But now he looks at Goro so lovingly that Akechi immediately wants to hide. 

“I wanted you to fight me. With all you’ve got. So we could put an end to all of this, but your stupid face…” Goro sighs. 

“We still can if you want to,” Ren replies, and Goro looks at him, wondering why on earth he fell for him. At this point he wants to kiss him as much as he wants to fight him (perhaps leaning towards kissing just a bit), and it makes him think whether a duel with Ren would actually bring him peace.

Ren doesn’t seem to mind that Goro is hopeless and broken, that he’s done horrible things and maybe, maybe there’s still chance for them to stay together as equals. 

“No…” Goro shakes his head. “I thought it would help me sort out my feelings, but I guess kissing works too.”

  
***

_11/2_

“We need to make Shido confess his crimes. We can’t let him be the next Prime Minister,” Ren says as Goro finishes telling the Phantom Thieves about the nature of the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. Public support of Shido constantly rises, and now they definitely have to act. 

“I agree,” Makoto replies. “The polls show that he has public support, and I cannot even imagine what will happen to Japan if he wins the election.”

“Father did say that it was Shido who helped him,” Haru adds. “We must do something about it.”

“Yeah,” Ryuji nods and turns to Akechi. “But man… I’m not sure I can forgive ya, but you’ve definitely been through so much shit…”

“I’m not looking for your forgiveness,” Goro glances at him as if to say that what is done is done, and there’s no point in discussing it now. 

“Fucking Akechi,” Ryuji mutters under his breath, irritated. “Just cause he dates Renren…”

“Stop this,” Makoto raises her voice. “We need to come with a plan, not argue with each other!”

Seeing her getting angry, Ryuji gives in. 

“Fi-i-i-ine…” he sighs, still looking at Goro like it’s not the end of their conversation though. 

Goro in the meantime just needs a break. 

  
***

_12/12_

The first thing that startles the Phantom Thieves (except for the fact that they’re on a bloody ship) is Akechi’s clothes. He doesn’t need to hide anymore; he’s wearing black mask, he’s fighting with Loki, and he feels much more comfortable this way. He’s always known that Loki is the one who truly understands him, while Robin Hood is constantly upset with him, disappointed even, but now Goro can just let it go. 

The further they proceed, the more delighted Goro becomes. He doesn’t have to pretend anymore, doesn’t have to be so polite and smile at everyone to the point that he wants to throw up because of how disgusting he is. And the fact that the group laughs at the sarcastic comments he makes while helping Futaba with navigation makes him feel kind of good. 

Just a little bit. 

It all goes surprisingly well until they get the final letter of introduction, and he appears. 

With cold, mad, empty eyes, and a cruel smile, and a gun in his hand, making _the real Goro Akechi_ feel as if the gun is already at his chest. 

Cognitive Akechi is utterly distorted, twisted, a puppet gone mad and about to be thrown away, and it pains Goro to realise how close he was to become like this in reality. 

“You wanted to be acknowledged, right? To be loved?” Cognitive Akechi says, with that half-smile the real Goro hates, before going completely insane. “I’ll give one last chance. Shoot them. Then maybe you’ll be loved.”

Goro can’t help but laugh. This whole situation feels so unreal like a stupid nightmare he can’t shake off.

As his laugh dies out, Goro grabs his gun and points it at Ren, ignoring other Phantom Thieves’ gasps, and looks directly at him. It’s fucking funny how obvious it is that Ren can barely keep a smirk off his face, and Goro wants to laugh again. 

Instead, he grins and nods slightly, so that the fake Akechi doesn’t notice shit, but Ren does, and shoots. Having turned around, grinning, shoots that pathetic piece of shit, while Ren dashes forward and grabs Goro, pulling him away. 

The first one to react is Morgana. He jumps immediately and shoots a button with his slingshot, locking Cognitive Akechi away. It is only then the others find strength to pull themselves back together, to rush to Goro and Ren to check if they’re okay. 

“Crow, you were so awesome!” Futaba exclaims, with an excited smile on her face. “For a second there, I really thought you were gonna shoot Ren!”

“How is that awesome?” Makoto shakes her head. “Someone could’ve…” she begins, but nobody listens. Everyone’s too excited to calm down, and Haru touches her shoulder and smiles softly, making Makoto melt a little. “Well, I suppose it _is_ important to appreciate that everyone is alright, but we need to get moving, okay?.. _Guys_?”

  
***

_12/25_

“Serves him right!” Ryuji shouts — so loud it drives Ann sitting next to him mad. 

“Ryuji! You’re screaming in my ears,” Ann yells, but her voice gets lost among others. 

They all happily gathered together in Leblanc, it’s Christmas, but the only thing that’s all over the news is Shido’s trial and imprisonment. 

“In his testimony, he didn’t say anything about me,” Goro notes quietly, looking at Ren. They sit by the counter together, and Ren puts his head on Goro’s shoulder from behind.

“Maybe it was his way of apologising to you,” he replies, making Goro laugh. 

“As if!”

“He did have a change of heart though.”

“I know,” Goro admits, twirling a strand of his hair around his finger. “But it’s still hard to believe.”

“I love your hair, by the way,” Ren mentions, tucking one of Goro’s loose pastel pink locks behind his ear. 

“Well, of course you do! You dyed it!” Goro can’t help but laugh, hiding his face in his hands. 

It was their encounter with the cognitive version of him in Shido’s palace that helped him made up his mind about dyeing his hair — to distance himself from _him_ — and there’s only one person on earth who Goro would entrust his hair to. 

(Ren finally did it yesterday.)

Yusuke compliments his hair too (he did suggest it in the first place), Ann and Haru fall in love with it right away, and even Sojiro says something nice, because well, Goro is Ren’s boyfriend, so isn’t it what Sojiro’s supposed to do as Ren’s family? 

Everyone’s eating, and laughing, and talking a lot, nearly missing the last train, and Sojiro comes up to Ren when everyone’s gone home (except for Goro who’s currently reading in the attic, gently petting Morgana sleeping on his lap) to ask him if he would like to stay. 

“Can I?” Ren asks, not being able to believe that this is possible, and Sojiro nods. 

“I’ve already talked to your parents if you could finish school here; Futaba said you wouldn’t ask yourself because you don’t want to cause me any trouble, so I thought I should ask them myself, just in case. Well, they said it was up to you,” Sojiro smiles and looks up at the attic. “You should tell them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear it.”

Of course, they are. 

  
Ren looks at the stars shining in the sky, shining reflected in Goro’s eyes, with a cup of coffee in his hands and Goro and Morgana by his side. Goro stays because he doesn’t want to go to his place — it’s not even a home, it’s just “his place” — but he knows here, in this cold, dusty attic, in Ren’s arms, he’s home. 

He's loved, and he’s enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I stumbled upon this post on tumblr (https://chidorinnnnn.tumblr.com/post/189660370957/reasons-an-akira-goes-to-kosei-instead-of-shujin), fell in love and knew right away that I was gonna write something based on it
> 
> the huge inspiration was «beneath the mask» because I don't know, maybe it's just me, but this song always reminds me of goro, the lyrics fit him perfectly, I think
> 
> the whole mood was also set by «pink in the night» by mitski
> 
> two other songs I used were «three» and «eight» by sleeping at last (again, because they remind me of goro, especially «three») 
> 
> in the end, even though it started as a story about ren, the main focus gradually shifted to akechi. I just love him too much, I guess
> 
> I also decided to include some of the headcanons I have, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
